Pale Green -- Lexus's $100,000 Hybrid

By

Jeff Sabatini

Updated Nov. 2, 2007 11:59 p.m. ET

The biggest con running in the auto industry right now is the notion that hybrids represent some sort of quantum leap in green transportation. Not only is this patently untrue -- hybrid technology is actually decades old -- but it shamelessly plays to the hypocrisy of our society. If we really wanted to save the planet, instead of buying hybrids we would start walking. Or riding bikes. Maybe a few more of us would try public transportation. How about starting with slowing down to the speed limit on the freeway?

But let's be honest: Most Americans aren't willing to change to conserve energy. Even lifestyle choices like driving a small car, carpooling and living in the vicinity of where we work are largely anathema, which is why I'm not the least bit shocked by the Lexus LS 600h L.

This is a hybrid limousine with a base sticker price of $104,765, meaning that it's the perfect way for a captain of industry to show the little people that he, too, will sacrifice nothing in his attempt to demonstrate to the world that he sort of cares about the environment. (And of course he does, as these days there are profits to be made by selling all manner of "green" products, whether they have any tangible environmental benefit or not.)

Toyota is bullish on the LS 600h L's "Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle" rating, the EPA's tightest standard for gasoline-powered vehicles. Of course that standard has nothing to do with carbon-dioxide emissions, which are strictly tied to fuel economy. And with an EPA combined rating of just 21 mpg, this 16.9-foot, two-and-a-half-ton sedan isn't doing a lot to combat global warming. It will get two miles per gallon more than the nonhybrid LS 460 L on which it is based, a car that costs $33,000 less.

Cost-benefit analysis clearly doesn't figure into the allure. We did the math: The hybrid version will save its owner enough on gas to break even after only 2.1 million miles. Keeping with Toyota's brand strategy for its Lexus division hybrids, the LS 600h L deploys its technology as a badge of exclusivity rather than environmentalism, with the sort of "Why? Because we can!" bravado that's endemic among luxury-car brands. Though in this case there's not even another hybrid that competes in this part of the luxury arena.

Seamless Hybrid

With its five-liter V8 supplemented by an electric drive motor, a generator and a nickel metal hydride battery pack, the all-wheel-drive system makes 438 total horsepower, compared to a mere 380 horsepower from the 4.6-liter V8 engine in the standard LS. This is the most seamless hybrid system extant, thanks in large part to a continuously variable transmission that's even more amazing than the eight-speed automatic in the internal-combustion-only version. In the hybrid you can feel a slight effect of the regenerative braking system transmitted through the brake pedal. (This system uses the car's rolling inertia to turn a generator, which in turn creates electricity to recharge the batteries.) But that's the only thing about this car that makes it any less refined than its conventional sibling, which is arguably the paragon of luxury sedans.

Introduced for the 2007 model year, the LS 460 L (the nonhybrid) was the first long-wheelbase version of Lexus's flagship sedan. Even in this extended, 121.7-inch-wheelbase configuration, the LS remedies the biggest shortcoming of the previous generation -- its exceptionally soft suspension and numb handling. The big sedan is now as enjoyable to drive as it is to be driven in. So, too, is the hybrid version. Despite carrying an extra 700-plus pounds, the hybrid is reasonably engaging from behind the wheel, courtesy of its three-setting air-suspension system.

Dead Battery

An endless list of available features (automatic parking system, pre-collision system with adaptive cruise control, air purifier, so on), not to mention a gargantuan back seat, carries over from the standard LS. So does the look of massaged blandness that passes for Lexus styling. The hybrid's interior gets some extra embellishment in the form of a wood-and-chrome shift knob and a headliner made from Alcantara (a man-made material resembling suede that is commonly found in luxury cars). The most noticeable cosmetic differences outside are a "hybrid" badge below the rear doors, unique wheels and LED headlamps with blue accents, which Toyota claims are an industry first. You do lose some cargo capacity in the hybrid, as its battery pack eats up a good chunk of space behind the rear seats.

Unfortunately, for all the brilliant technology that resides within this $100,000-plus vehicle, it's missing a feature that has been commonly available on cheap cars for years: battery-rundown protection. I discovered this when the main 12-volt battery of the car I was testing drained while sitting overnight. After charging the battery the car started back up, but then the automatic trunk opener wouldn't work. A quick visit to the dealer got it reprogrammed, and the car exhibited no further problems. Lexus said I must have either left the car's accessory power on or forgotten to turn off one of the interior lights.

While the irony of not being able to start a car with a fully charged, 288-volt battery pack wasn't lost on me, the greater incongruity of the LS 600h L isn't nearly as humorous. Would that we could save the planet while reposed in the back seat of a chauffeured limo, air-conditioned seats reclined, watching a Live Earth concert on DVD and writing a check for carbon offsets. Reality dictates otherwise.

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